Gene Boosts Tomato's Color, But May Make It Less Tasty

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Health Highlights: June 29, 2012

HealthDay – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Daily 'Quad' Pill Should Help Patients With HIV

A once-a-day pill that combines four different anti-HIV medicines may make it easier for patients to adhere to treatment and fight the virus that causes AIDS, researchers say.

Reporting June 28 in The Lancet, study author Paul Sax told BBC News that "Patient adherence to medication is vital, especially for patients with HIV, where missed doses can quickly lead to the virus becoming resistant to medication."

Patients infected with HIV often must take several pills a day, although some drugs have been combined into single pills. But the new four-in-one "quad" pill is the first to include a type of medication known as an integrase inhibitor, which blocks HIV from replicating.

Sax, who is clinical director at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, led a team that tested the new pill in 700 patients. He told the BBC that the drug did appear safe and effective, although people taking it had a higher risk for kidney problems.

Responding to the finding, Dr Steve Taylor, an HIV specialist at Birmingham Heartland Hospital in the U.K., told the BBC that, "We've come a long way from people taking up to 40 pills three times a day." He called the quad pill "great news" for people fighting HIV.

The study was funded by biotech company Gilead Sciences.

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CDC Launches Free Drugstore HIV Testing

Drugstore testing for HIV may someday become routine if a government-sponsored pilot program catches on across the United States.

Free rapid HIV tests -- like those used in doctor's office and health clinics -- are available now at seven sites around the country, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday that it plans to add 17 more pharmacies and in-store clinics in cities and rural regions, the Associated Press reported.

"By bringing HIV testing into pharmacies, we believe we can reach more people by making testing more accessible and reduce the stigma associated with HIV," Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's HIV prevention program, said in a statement.

The HIV saliva test, which involves swabbing the mouth, provides preliminary results in 20 minutes. Customers with positive results will be referred for laboratory testing and, if the results are confirmed, counseling and treatment, the AP said.

While gay men and injectable drug users are considered at highest risk, the CDC currently recommends all teenagers and adults up to age 64 get tested at least once. The agency estimates that one-fifth of the 1.1 million Americans infected with HIV don't know they carry the virus that causes AIDS.

CDC, which is training drugstore personnel to administer the tests, will review the program results next summer.

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Asthma Rates Higher Near Busy Highway

HealthDay – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Residents of homes that are located near congested highways have higher rates of asthma, new research finds.

Living close to a busy highway was not linked to seasonal allergies, which suggests that emissions from cars could increase the risk for inflammatory lung disease, researchers from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center in New York said.

Researchers investigated the prevalence of asthma among 62 Brooklyn residents living close to Interstate 278, also known as the Gowanus Expressway, and those living in the same area but farther from the highway. The researchers found higher rates of asthma among the people living closer to the Interstate.

"Our participants were randomly recruited and we observed that the patients who reported asthma live significantly closer to the Gowanus Expressway, compared to the healthy controls who live in the same area, but at a longer distance from the Gowanus," Dr. Maria-Anna Vastardi, of SUNY Downstate, said in a university news release.

The study was to be presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology meeting in Orlando. The research was also published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health provides more information on asthma.

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Shorter Arms May Explain Why Women Need Glasses Sooner Than Men

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Hot Flashes Don't Signal Poor Heart Health for Most Women: Study

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Summertime Is Tonsillectomy Time

HealthDay – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Summer may seem like paradise for many kids, but sometimes their health can put a crimp in the fun: Summer can be the perfect season to get a tonsillectomy.

"Kids need from 10 days to two weeks recovery time, so summer offers an ideal opportunity to get tonsil removal out of the way without interfering with school or winter holidays," Dr. Laura Cozzi, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Maywood, Ill., said in a Loyola University Health System news release.

"Improving breathing, eliminating snoring and reducing colds and ear infections are usually the reasons for having tonsils removed -- usually nothing life threatening or urgent -- so the surgery can be arranged when it is most convenient," Cozzi added.

If your child is one of the estimated 500,000 who will get a tonsillectomy this year, what should you know? Here are some tips, courtesy of Cozzi:

Snoring and disrupted sleep could be a sign that your child -- or even yourself, as an adult -- needs a tonsillectomy. "This lack of healthful sleep can cause irritability, poor performance in school and even in very rare cases, developmental delays," she said.A child's age is an important factor, with many surgeries being performed between ages 3 and 7. "Tonsils usually shrink between the ages of 7 and 8. If they don't, many parents of these school-age children want them removed to prevent existing or recurring health problems," Cozzi said.The surgery is now an outpatient procedure. "Many parents remember staying in a hospital overnight as children after having tonsils removed but, today, the surgery takes about one hour and children go home to continue their recovery, which is less traumatic and preferred by parents and young patients," Cozzi explained. Symptoms that could spell tonsil trouble include: regularly breathing through the mouth; loud snoring and awakenings during sleep; repeated ear infections or sore throat; persistent runny nose or cough; white spots on the tonsils or foul odor and enlarged tonsils.Though parents may promise their kids they can have lots of ice cream after surgery, liquids are more important to avoid dehydration, Cozzi pointed out. "But my patients like the idea that they can watch TV, play video games and surf the net more than usual, during their recovery," she added.

More information

For more about tonsils, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Bristol-Myers to buy Amylin for about $5.3 billion

Reuters – Fri, Jun 29, 2012 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co will buy biotechnology company Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $5.3 billion in cash, helping Bristol-Myers extend its portfolio of diabetes treatments with the addition of drugs Byetta and Bydureon.

Bristol-Myers said late on Friday it had also reached a follow-on deal with UK-based AstraZeneca Plc to collaborate on developing Amylin's products once the buyout is completed, expanding upon an existing partnership between the two pharmaceutical makers in diabetes treatments. AstraZeneca will pay $3.4 billion in cash for these rights.

Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca already collaborate on several diabetes treatments including Onglyza, and aim to strengthen their position in a growing, multibillion-dollar market. More than 360 million people worldwide have diabetes, with the overwhelming majority suffering from type 2 diabetes, a condition partly attributable to the rise in obesity in many countries.

In a statement, Bristol-Myers Chief Executive Lamberto Andreotti described the deals as a unique way to build on its relationship with AstraZeneca, which "demonstrates Bristol-Myers Squibb's innovative and targeted approach to partnerships and business development."

The boards of directors at Amylin, Bristol and AstraZeneca have approved the two transactions, the companies said.

Amylin began approaching potential buyers in April after rejecting a previous $3.5 billion takeover bid from Bristol-Myers, and facing pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn.

In all, five pharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca, Novartis AG and Sanofi SA were in the running for Amylin, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.

LEGACY OF ELI LILLY DEAL

Bristol-Myers will pay $31 per share for Amylin, a premium of 10 percent to the company's closing price on Friday. Amylin's shares had already tripled in value from a low of nearly $8 last October.

Amylin and Eli Lilly Co introduced Byetta for type 2 diabetes in 2005, and the longer-acting version Bydureon, which can be taken once a week, was approved by U.S. regulators earlier this year. Both contain the active ingredient exenatide.

Amylin scrapped its partnership with Lilly in November last year after the two became embroiled in a legal dispute. Bristol-Myers has agreed to pay an additional $1.7 billion to cover Amylin's debt and its obligations to Lilly from ending their collaboration.

Bristol-Myers will finance the purchase from its existing cash resources and credit facilities. Amylin has agreed not to solicit competing offers. The transactions are expected to be dilutive to Bristol-Myers' adjusted earnings in 2012 and 2013 by about 3 cents per share, and become slightly accretive in 2014.

Citi and Evercore are serving as financial advisers to Bristol-Myers and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is its legal adviser. AstraZeneca's financial adviser on the deal is Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Covington & Burling LLP are its legal advisers.

Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs & Co. are acting as financial advisers to Amylin Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal adviser.

(Additional reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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AstraZeneca hungry to refill medicine cabinet

Reuters – 13 hrs ago LONDON (Reuters) - Simon Lowth may only be the interim chief executive of AstraZeneca Plc but he is ready to sign off on bold deals.

The decision to pair up with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co to buy diabetes specialist Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc shows the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is stepping up its deal-making, despite the management hiatus at the top of the company.

AstraZeneca is chipping in $3.4 billion for a half share in Amylin's products for the fast-growing type 2 diabetes market.

"The strategy is clear and this acquisition and collaboration is bang in the middle of that strategy," Lowth said in an interview on Saturday.

"We can drop Amylin straight into the portfolio of our existing global diabetes alliance with Bristol-Myers and, of course, we also share the capital cost, which gives us strength to pursue further opportunities."

The deal is AstraZeneca's biggest since its poorly received purchase of another U.S. biotechnology company, MedImmune, for $15.6 billion in 2007. And, importantly, it signals that new chairman Leif Johansson endorses the group's renewed focus on external deals.

Faced with one of the steepest "patent cliffs" in the pharmaceutical industry, which will savage sales of its current top-selling medicines over the next five years, AstraZeneca has been under mounting pressure to do something to shore up its business.

Investor dissatisfaction led to the abrupt departure of previous CEO David Brennan and the early appointment of Johansson, a former boss of truckmaker Volvo, as non-executive chairman from June 1.

There has been intense investor debate, however, as to whether AstraZeneca should step up acquisitions, in order to bolster its line-up of established and pipeline medicines, or simply shrink its operations to maximize cash returns.

On its own, a half share in Amylin is not enough to reverse AstraZeneca's fortunes. So Lowth is looking to bolt on more such deals, most likely with a price tag of a similar size or less.

"We do see continued opportunities," he said. "Clearly, if there are compelling opportunities that are larger than this we would look at them, but the assets we're most interested in tend to be of this size or perhaps smaller."

In April, AstraZeneca agreed to buy Ardea BioSciences for $1.26 billion, giving it a new gout drug to swell its thin pipeline. The same month it also clinched a deal to jointly develop and sell five of Amgen Inc's experimental drugs.

Bidding for Amylin was highly competitive, with Sanofi SA, Merck & Co Inc and Novartis AG also interested in the company, sources familiar with the situation earlier told Reuters.

The eventual price paid of $5.3 billion, or $31 a share, a premium of 10 percent to the closing price on Friday, may be seen as steep, given the shares were already inflated by takeover speculation. Bristol-Myers will also pay an additional $1.7 billion to cover Amylin's debt and its obligations to Eli Lilly Co from ending an earlier collaboration.

But AstraZeneca hopes the joint approach with Bristol-Myers will deflect potential criticism of having over-paid - an accusation that haunted former CEO Brennan over his buy of MedImmune.

"The two companies undertook parallel but independent due diligence and the process therefore brings with it the validation of two sets of eyes," Lowth said.

AstraZeneca will also seeking to reassure investors with a commitment to maintain its progressive dividend policy, despite the fact the deal is set to dilute earnings in 2012 and 2013 before yielding benefits in 2014.

(Editing by Sophie Walker)

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Lance Armstrong to face formal anti-doping charges

Reuters – 12 hrs ago (Reuters) - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has unanimously recommended filing formal doping charges against U.S. cycling champ Lance Armstrong, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

Armstrong, who has won seven Tour De France cycling titles, insists that he is innocent. The next step in the process is an arbitration hearing. Armstrong has said he will challenge the findings.

"USADA can confirm that the independent three person Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) has conducted a full evaluation and has made a unanimous recommendation to move forward with the adjudication process in accordance with the rules," agency Chief Executive Travis Tygart said in a statement.

The agency made some details of its case known in a letter to Armstrong, which was posted online by the Washington Post.

In the letter dated June 12, the agency said that it has Armstrong's blood samples from 2009 and 2010 that are "fully consistent" with doping. The agency also has at least 10 former teammates and colleagues of Armstrong that will testify that he used performance-enhancing drugs during races from 1999 to 2005, according to the letter.

"These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity," Armstrong said in a statement earlier this month, when news of the agency's intentions first surfaced.

"USADA's malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later are all at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play."

Accusations of doping have dogged Armstrong since he ascended to the top of the cycling world after overcoming cancer. In February, the U.S. Justice Department dropped an investigation centered on whether Armstrong and his teammates cheated the sponsor of their bike racing team with a secret doping program.

That decision meant he would not face criminal charges from the two-year-long probe.

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Use Caution When Exercising in Hot Weather

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Young Athletes Face Unhealthy Food Choices, Parents Say

HealthDay – 1 hr 19 mins ago FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Children who play organized sports often consume unhealthy foods and beverages, a new study finds.

University of Minnesota researchers interviewed the parents of 60 youth basketball players and found that the youngsters commonly had sweets, such as candy, ice cream and doughnuts; pizza; hot dogs; salty snacks, such as chips, nachos and cheese puffs; and soda and sports drinks.

The parents also reported frequent visits to fast-food restaurants when their children were playing sports.

Although the parents agreed that these foods and beverages are unhealthy, they said rushing to practices and games made them rely more on these types of products due to their convenience.

The researchers also found that parents had difficulty determining whether certain foods and drinks were healthy, and had doubts about whether it was feasible for concession stands at youth sports venues to offer healthy choices.

The study was published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

"The food environment in youth sports exposes kids and their families to many unhealthful foods and beverages and few healthful options," principal investigator Toben Nelson said in a journal news release. "Youth who participate in sports spend considerable time in these activities outside of school, and these sports environments are likely to influence their eating behavior."

The researchers suggested many ways to promote healthy eating in children who play sports, including integrating nutrition education into youth sports programs and finding ways to improve the nutritional quality of food available at youth sports venues.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about feeding your child athlete.

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Ruling ups support for Obama healthcare, still unpopular

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